Could you please introduce yourself to the reader and the country you represented?
My name is Ameer, I am from Glasgow, Scotland, and currently work in London as an Investment Banking Analyst. This year, I served as a UK Youth Delegate to COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
Tell us more about what got you involved with COP27. What was your interest in it before attending? Do you have any other activism/delegate/policymaking experience?
I have been engaged in youth politics and representation for a number of years. I previously served as Student Body President at the University of Glasgow during my undergraduate degree and was engaged with institutional work on climate and sustainability. Additionally, I served on the G7 Youth Forum in 2021 with the Future Leaders Network working on youth representative engagement around climate and the environment.
What made you want to attend the conference?
In November 2021, I additionally served as a UK Youth Delegate to COP26 in my hometown of Glasgow, Scotland. Through attending the conference last year, I became acquainted with and developed an understanding of UNFCCC processes to structurally develop multilateral decisions concerning climate change.
I engaged with a diverse range of stakeholders, and developed key contacts with other delegates, working to ensure a diverse and objective youth perspective is integrated at the highest levels within negotiations.
Through being an active member of the Future Leaders Network, I have had the opportunity over the last couple of years to harness and develop key negotiation skills, and an understanding of how to interpret multilateral policies.
Also, I am of a mixed background, where my paternal heritage is Arab, and with COP this year being hosted in an Arabic-speaking country in the Middle East, this was particularly close to my heart.
Could you tell us more about the organisation that you went with?
The Future Leaders Network is a not-for-profit organisation, founded with the goal of discovering and developing the next generation of political, economic and social leaders.
Our diverse community incubates policy positions through intensive research, debate, engagement and collaboration.
Membership in the Future Leaders Network offers participants the opportunity to enhance their personal and professional development and grow the network necessary to realise their significant potential.
Our community is member-led and offers like-minded individuals the opportunity to come together to make a substantive contribution and affect real change across a broad range of academic disciplines, political and social issues and interests.
The Future Leaders Network
What were your thoughts on action/speeches? Did any speakers/policies stand out to you?
The speech from Brazil’s President-elect, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula), was quite inspiring, referencing “Brazil is back”, and reaffirming Brazil’s commitment to working towards a more sustainable future.
The following was referenced within his speech;
"We must stop this rush to the abyss. There is no climate security for the world without a protected Amazon," he said, saying climate change would have the highest priority for his government.
We will do whatever it takes to have zero deforestation and the degradation of our biomes
What do you think went well?
The public statements from both the US and China highlighted that a commitment to working to reduce global methane emissions was further an area of positive development in working towards environmental sustainability. However, further work is required around this.
How could world leaders, countries and states do better?
Further inclusion of a diverse range of stakeholders into processes within COP, reflecting broader demographics within societies, would be a positive development.
Taiwan's Youth Climate Coalition and Ameer at COP27
What are your hopes for next year at COP28?
That financial commitments for loss and damage will continue to be supported, and that keeping global warming below the 1.5-degree target will continue to be supported.
If you could send a message to COP37, what would you say?
Don’t forget the mission to save our planet. The following quote by Former US President, Barack Obama, exemplifies the call to action; “We are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it.”
What would you say to young people wanting to become involved?
I would encourage all people to engage; locally, nationally, and internationally, where possible, to contribute to efforts to create a more environmentally sustainable future.
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